This invention relates to appliances and, more particularly, to appliances, such as automatic washing machines, that have a system for electronically labeling hot and cold fluid supply lines.
When installing or replacing an appliance system requiring a water supply connection, such as an automatic icemaker for a refrigerator with in the door water taps, a coffee maker with cold and hot water taps, or a clothes washer with hot and cold inlet valves, homeowners or inexperienced appliance installers often mistakenly reverse hot and cold water supply line connections to the appliance system. As a result, the appliance typically does not function properly.
A mistake in the water supply connections to a refrigerator or coffee maker can lead to a homeowner receiving hot water via a cold water tap, or vice versa. Typically, the homeowner expends time and effort in correcting the mistake or expends time and cost in calling and waiting for a service repairman to correct the mistake.
Furthermore, a homeowner may set an incorrectly connected clothes washer for a cold water cycle but because hot and cold water supply lines have been erroneously cross coupled to cold and hot water inlet valves associated with the clothes washer, the clothes washer improperly uses hot water for the cold water cycle. Thus, the error in cross coupling the water supply lines to the clothes washer leads to undesirable results when garments are washed in water that is not at the appropriate temperature (e.g., washing colored or delicate clothes in hot temperature water or washing heavily soiled cloths in cold temperature water).
Therefore, a need exits for a low cost apparatus and method for detecting a mistake in connecting hot and cold water supply lines to an appliance system such that the appliance system may not be improperly operated.